The American Petroleum Institute reported late Wednesday that U.S. crude supplies fell 5.4 million barrels for the week ended May 28, according to sources. The data were released a day later than usual due to Monday's Memorial Day holiday. The API reportedly showed gasoline stockpiles up by 2.5 million barrels, while distillate inventories rose 1.6 million barrels. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub, meanwhile, edged up by 741,000 barrels for the week, sources said. Inventory data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Thursday. On average, the EIA is expected to show crude inventories down by 3.3 million barrels, according to a survey of analysts conducted by S&P Global Platts. It also forecast supply declines of 1.1 million barrels for gasoline and 1.6 million barrels for distillates. July West Texas Intermediate crude was at $68.78 barrel in electronic trading, compared with Wednesday’s settlement at $68.83 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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